


Better Be Ready to Smile

by ApomaroMellow



Category: Free!
Genre: Carnival, Cruise Ships, Fundraisers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-08-19 07:04:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20205691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApomaroMellow/pseuds/ApomaroMellow
Summary: Five oneshots. Five dates. All Reigisa





	1. Cruise

Water. He heard water. And yet Rei never used ambient sounds in order to get himself to sleep. He had his body, perfectly attuned to the rhythm of the days and his schedule to thank for that. So what was that sound of water?

He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying in a lounge chair, next to a pool. That explained the splashing but why was he at a pool? Rei sat up and realized the pool was on a deck on a huge boat.

A cruise ship.

He was aboard a cruise ship.

"It's about time you woke up!", Nagisa exclaimed, coming into view. "You promised me you'd go rock climbing with me. Come on!"

Nagisa pulled him along and the last few hours returned to him. Nagisa said they'd go on a short trip. Something to celebrate getting into college. Rei had been burnt out, studying for entrance exams and assuring the future of the swim club. He didn't think he'd be up for traveling, but he could never resist Nagisa. He remembered packing a bag, and then collapsing onto the unbelievably soft comforter of their room.

And that was it.

Obviously at some point it was revealed they were going on a cruise but Rei couldn't for the life of him remember nor understand how Nagisa got him to go along with it. It was absolutely absurd. But he supposed he was used to it, having dated Nagisa for two years at this point.

They went rock climbing and Nagisa, having energy to spare, made it up first and waited for Rei to join him, nuzzling their noses when they were face to face before descending. After that, they got lunch at the buffet. Even after all this time, Nagisa's appetite, plus his unique tastes, were a sight to see. After stuffing themselves, they went to the spa, which Rei almost fell asleep at again.

The sun began to dip below the horizon and they leaned against the railing, where other couples had come to watch the romantic sunset. Rei had his arm around Nagisa's shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Will you ever stop being a chaotic mess? I spent half the day trying to retrace my steps."

"It's not my fault. I told you everything once we got on the boat", Nagisa said, firm in his reasoning.

"Perhaps next time you can tell my our travel plans before getting on the boat."

Nagisa let out a giggle. "But it's kinda fun to see you freak out sometimes. Your reactions are the best."

"I suppose every boke needs their tsukkomi", Rei shrugged.

"Exactly!", Nagisa agreed.

That conversation ended like that, with a kiss between them as they continued to watch the sunset. Rei didn't think he'd give up Nagisa's nature for anything in the world. And now he had the rest of their cruise to look forward to.


	2. Carnival

Nagisa pulled Rei along which in itself was a very familiar scene. This time, he was leading the other through a carnival. Tonight, Nagisa was on a mission.

It was Operation: First Kiss.

He and Rei had been dating since the middle of their second year at Iwatobi. Now they were third years, on the cusp on true adulthood. And they had yet to share a kiss. Nagisa had tried. Oh boy, did he try. But his advances had always been rebuffed by Rei for one reason or another. Nagisa would never force himself on Rei, but it was never that Rei was opposed to actually kissing him.

It was just never the right place or the right time.

But tonight was the right time.

And here was the right place.

Well, not here-here. The carnival itself was not the perfect location. But rather the tunnel of love that was housed inside of it. What could be more romantic than smooching in darkness?

But Nagisa wouldn't go straight to that. He had to get Rei in the mood first. Romance him. And he knew just how to get it started. Nagisa pulled him to one of the many food booths.

"Order whatever you want! It's my treat", Nagisa offered.

"Your treat, huh?" There was a tiny part of Rei that wanted to test out his words, just a little and buy as much as the other boy could carry, but he wasn't that cruel. And he wasn't that hungry. And one of the worst things you could do was waste food. So he ordered himself some takoyaki which Nagisa happily paid for, getting three orders for himself.

They sat down to eat and afterwards went to the booths for some games. Nagisa insisted on winning Rei some prizes and he actually did. Rei blushed although he put up a front when Nagisa handed the plush toy to him. After all, what use did he have for a toy like that but of course he'd keep it how could you think otherwise?

Then came the moment Nagisa had been waiting for. The Tunnel of Love. Rei looked over at Nagisa skeptically, but Nagisa only smiled up innocently at him. When they got in their little boat, Nagisa held his hand.

"Have you ever done this before Rei-chan?"

"I have not", Rei answered, his posture stiff and on guard.

Nagisa stroked the back of his hand with his thumb, trying to get him to relax before he made his move. "I've never done anything like this before either."

He reached out with his other hand to find Rei's cheek and turned his head towards him as he leaned in. When Rei realized what he was doing, he stuttered and flinched away, rocking the boat a little.

"N-Nagisa-kun!?"

"Oh come on, Rei-chan! We've been dating for so long, why won't you let me kiss you?", Nagisa nearly whined.

"It's not that simple! Everything must be perfect", Rei said.

Nagisa threw up his hands. "More perfect than the tunnel of love?"

"I! I just ate, my breath must be terrible. And we can hardly see each other here and I... I just want it to be something you remember."

"Oh, Rei-chan..." Nagisa smiled at him fondly. Of course Rei had thought this over. He always did. But now wasn't the time to think. Which was where Nagisa excelled. He grabbed Rei's face and pulled him in for a kiss before he could voice anymore protests on Nagisa's behalf. When Nagisa pulled back, he could see that Rei's glasses were slightly askew.

"Was it...was it nice for you?", Rei asked.

Nagisa nodded excitedly just as their boat got to the exit of the ride. "It was perfect!"


	3. Volunteering

"Tell me again, how this considered a date?", Rei asked as he observed their surroundings.

Nagisa hugged Rei's arm to his chest and nuzzled it. Rei adamantly refused to acknowledge how cute that was. Even mentally. Nope. He wasn't going to do it.

"Come on. It's just you, me, and all the sweets we can handle", Nagisa said, waving a hand towards the table of baked goods.

"Those are for the fundraiser!"

Nagisa and Rei sat at a booth on main street, planning on selling their wares. It was a fundraiser for the swim club, with help from the baking club in exchange for a cut of the profits. It was Nagisa who had somehow decided this was the perfect location for a date. Rei didn't understand his boyfriend sometimes.

"You're such a spoilsport", Nagisa said.

Rei already knew he'd be on defense the entire time, keeping Nagisa from eating their entire inventory. But now he also had to keep from being distracted by his boyfriend's advances.

And Nagisa could be very, very distracting.

He meant to do it sometimes. Like now, when he was walking his fingers up Rei's arm tantalizingly. He giggled when his hand was stopped and grabbed. Rei was still refusing to acknowledge his cuteness.

Sometimes he didn't mean to do it. Like now, when Rei allowed him a single cookie and Nagisa's cheeks filled like an adorable chipmunk. But no! He wouldn't be swayed just because of how Nagisa looked. They had a job to do and a goal to achieve. Rei had calculated the exact amount they'd need to sell in order to make enough and even accounted for Nagisa snacking on a few.

Luckily, Nagisa restrained himself. Although he didn't stop gazing at the sweets longingly. He was able to pull it together whenever a potential customer approached with the intent to buy. Nagisa wasn't cute when he was like that, but he was something else that Rei admired - capable. One of these days he'd have to tell Nagisa that. When it wouldn't result in some cheeky teasing.

The hours went on and the sky began to get dark, so they packed up what they had left and took down their booth. They were helped with that part by Amakata-sensei.

"I still say that this wasn't an appropriate date", Rei said.

"Anything can be a date, so long as it's you and me having fun together", Nagisa reasoned. "And...", he got on his tiptoes and pressed his lips to Rei's cheek. "It ends in a kiss."


	4. Bike Ride

Nagisa beamed brightly as he stood off to the side with his bike. Rei was going through his checklist of absolutely everything they would need for today. He looked like a kid excited to be going to an amusement park. They were going out on a date today, but not to a place like that. No, it would simply be a nice bike ride around their lovely town.

Going off without a plan in mind and seeing what their home had to offer had been fine by Nagisa. But of course, Rei had to have a plan. And so he made one. A very good one at that, but Nagisa knew his boyfriend well enough to know that he never did anything halfway.

"Do you have everything?", Nagisa asked.

"Just about, Nagisa-kun!"

He did a final run-through. In addition to their bikes themselves, Rei had a basket on his that held snacks, drinks, and apparently anything else they might need. Nagisa wasn't listening to his entire list.

"Alright! We're ready!"

"Great!", Nagisa exclaimed as he hopped onto his bike and sped off. He heard Rei calling after him and only then did he slow down.

"You need to pace yourself", Rei said when he caught up. "Otherwise you'll get winded too soon."

Nagisa continued on, matching the leisurely pace that Rei had set up. He had to admit, it was rather relaxing getting on this way. The breeze was gentle and he was able to wave at people that they passed by. It was Rei who would stop them intermittently to take a break for either food, drink, or just to rest their legs and lungs.

"You're pretty good at this, former track member Ryugazaki Rei", Nagisa said in a serious voice.

Rei's chest puffed out a bit in pride. "Knowing when to stop is important for any athletic endeavor."

They kept going and Nagisa was the one who stopped them to look into shops or take pictures in certain photogenic areas. By the end of it, Nagisa was a little tired from all the pedaling, but at least he wasn't exhausted. All in all, it had been a good day.


	5. Extreme Sports

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Nagisa-kun, no."

"Nagisa-kun yes!"

"Will you listen to me for once!"

Nagisa pouted. He didn't understand what had Rei so against this. He was always like this whenever Nagisa had a fun idea in mind. Rei on the other hand, wondered why his boyfriend was like this. Always coming up to him with some sort of crazy scheme.

"What's wrong with this?", Nagisa asked, holding up the magazine.

"You and I can't do this."

"We're trained athletes."

"Not trained for extreme sports!"

The cover had someone surfing. Rei still had vivid memories of almost drowning in the ocean. He wasn't up for that again.

"We can do one of the easier ones", Nagisa said.

"There's not such thing as an easy extreme sport."

Rei tried to be firm but Nagisa's eyes got big and watery and he held the magazine up to Rei's face. With a sigh of resignation, he took the publication from Nagisa.

"Something that won't get us killed on the first try."

Nagisa squealed and went to sit right next to Rei's side, practically squishing them together as he flipped through the pages to find something suitable for them to do together. Rei didn't like shooting down the other's ideas. He just knew he had to be the more pragmatic of the two, lest they break a bone. And he could admit trying new things was exciting.

Swimming had given him a rush once he got the hang of it. So doing that again could be nice. Even more so because he'd be doing it as something romantic with Nagisa. Slowly, Rei was talking himself into it.

"So how about surfing?", Nagisa asked.

"No."

"Mountain biking?"

"No."

"Mountain climbing?"

"No mountains, please, Nagisa-kun."

"Ice climbing then!"

Rei sighed. This might take them a while. But at least they were having a conversation about it. It was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The world goes round no matter  
That's the only true we know  
The world goes round, so better  
Better be ready to smile  
\- World Goes Round


End file.
